This webpage provides schools, families and youth with information, resources, and programming to help support the prevention and cessation of vaping/e-Cigarettes among youth.
Visit Our Health Our City if you would like more information on Toronto’s mental health, substance use, harm reduction and treatment strategy to reduce substance use related harms and promote mental health and well-being across all ages.
For more information, visit the: Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey.
Vaping is when you puff (breathe in and out) on a battery-operated device, often called an e-Cigarette. The e-cigarette contains e-Juice or a vaping liquid. When this is heated, it creates an aerosol that can be inhaled through the mouth into the lungs.
When you vape, you aren’t breathing in “water vapour.” You are breathing in a combination of substances and chemicals that may cause harm to your lungs.
While the long-term health impacts of vaping are unclear, there is some evidence that exposure to the chemicals in vapour products (glycerol, propylene glycol and flavourings) can result in acute pulmonary lung disease or irreversible lung damage.
Smoking and vaping are not allowed in public and private schools, including the grounds associated with the school, and public areas within 20 metres of any point on the perimeter of the grounds of the school.
It is also illegal to sell tobacco and vapour products in public schools and private schools.
Resources:
Policy/Program Memorandum 128 (PPM 128)has now added e-Cigarettes to the list of prohibited items. School Board codes of conduct must also remind the school community that the use of e-Cigarettes (vaping) at school and on school grounds is prohibited.
At minimum, in the case of these substances being found in possession of students, parents must be notified, and the student must surrender the item(s) to the educator or administrator. Learn more about Policy/Program Memorandum 128.
If you are thinking about vaping or feeling pressured to try vaping, check out Not an Experiment’s Tips and Health Canada’s Tip on Resisting Vaping.
For ideas on youth advocacy on vaping, check out The Truth Initiative, The Lung Foundation or Not an Experiment
Check Out Youth Stories About Vaping:
If you are an adult ally working with youth, there are various programs and resources that you can use to support youth leadership initiatives.
Helping youth to avoid starting to vape starts with a conversation with an adult that they trust and who cares about their health and well-being. Parents, family members and other trusted adults can all start a conversation with a young person to prevent or help stop vaping.
Resources:
An adult ally is a trusted adult that supports, advocates for and works with students. They acknowledge their role as a partner with youth, and actively work to create a supportive and collaborative environment that is non-judgmental and helps students have their voices and opinions validated and heard.
Resources for educators:
See the video series on how to talk to youth about vaping:
| Mental Health Service | Type of Service Offered |
|---|---|
| Kids Help Phone
1-800-668-6868 |
Information/counselling |
| Help Ahead
1-866-585-6486 |
Counselling/referrals |
| About Kids Health | Information |
| School Mental Health Ontario | Information |
| Health Connect Ontario
Call 811 for non-urgent health care information |
Information |
| Toronto Public Health
416-338-7600 |
Information/referrals |
Toronto Public Health’s School Liaison Public Health Nurses (SLPHNS) are able to respond to school service requests on vaping.
Please see the list of schools with an assigned SLPHN for the 2024-2025 school year. Schools without an assigned SLPHN as well as parents, guardians and caregivers can also contact Toronto Public Health at publichealth@toronto.ca or 416-338-7600, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Service is available in multiple languages.
Indigenous youth are more likely to vape than non-Indigenous youth. Below are resources developed for Indigenous youth and the adult allies that work with Indigenous youth. Commercial tobacco differs from ceremonial tobacco. Toronto Public Health recognizes the difference between commercial and traditional/sacred tobacco and respects tremendous significance that traditional/sacred tobacco holds for some Indigenous communities.
Pour plus d’informations, visitez le résumé du rapport sur la consommation de drogues : SCDSEO 2023.
Le vapotage consiste à inhaler et à expirer un aérosol généré par un produit de vapotage tel qu’une cigarette électronique. Le vapotage n’implique pas d’allumage de flamme contrairement à fumer la cigarette. Le dispositif réchauffe un liquide et le transforme en aérosol (parfois appelé « vapeur » et souvent appelé faussement« vapeur d’eau »).
Le terme « vapotage » est également utilisé pour désigner l’inhalation d’aérosols du cannabis, qui sont générés par des produits qui diffèrent des produits contenant de la nicotine décrits dans cette page.
Les dispositifs de vapotage sont généralement alimentés par des batteries et ils sont constitués d’éléments détachables.
Le fonctionnement du vapotage (youtube.com)
Pour plus d’informations, visitez, Gouvernement du Canada
Les personnes dépendantes de la nicotine ont de fortes envies de vapoter. Ces envies font en sorte qu’elles se sentent mal lorsqu’elles n’ont pas pris de nicotine pendant un certain temps. Lorsqu’elles prennent de la nicotine, ces envies disparaissent pendant une courte période, puis reviennent. La nicotine soulage les envies de fumer, mais pas le stress ni les causes du stress.
Pour plus d’informations, visitez, Pas une expérience
Ontario sans fumée (Loi de 2017 favorisant un)
Loi de 2017 favorisant un Ontario sans fumée Incidence de la loi sur : les écoles
Educateurs – Pas une exper French